


Running With the 90s (Kids)

by GuardianLioness



Category: Batman (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Car Chases, Duke Thomas's Metahuman Powers, Elements From Pre-New 52 Continuity, Gen, Hybrid Continuity, Team Bonding, a day in the life, under 1000 word challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:08:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23498770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuardianLioness/pseuds/GuardianLioness
Summary: A car chase at twilight provides an opportunity for a team-up, teaches Duke a bit about one of his fellow teenage vigilantes, and promises a future full of the best kind of chaos.
Relationships: Tim Drake & Duke Thomas
Comments: 19
Kudos: 106





	Running With the 90s (Kids)

Duke cursed under his breath as the photokinetic remnant of the white van fuzzed out against the sunset’s glow. It sputtered for a moment, just on the edge of vanishing altogether, before coming back into view.

They had to _book_ it. If the residual light kept fading like that, they’d never catch up. The experimental drug the van carried would be shipped off to a villain syndicate operating out of Seoul, and once it crossed international waters, getting it back would be a _nightmare_.

A black roadster pulled up along the curb, and Duke threw open the door and ducked inside. “Drive,” he snapped, clicking his seatbelt into place. 

“Already on it.” Red Robin threw the car into drive. The engine purred, then roared as the speedometer climbed. “Nav me, Day Shift.”

“Left on Fifth. Trail leads toward Phillips and Court, but I’m gonna lose the afterimage if we don’t haul.”

“Oh, I can haul.” Tim’s gauntleted hand drifted to the gearshift. With a quick motion, he flicked it into a new position, and the edge of a smirk crept onto his face.

The car shot forward. 

Duke was thrown back against the seat, his head thumping dully against the padding on the inside of his helmet. Blinking, he pulled himself forward as the acceleration climbed. The trail — He sighed in relief. The light remnants still shone against the blacktop.

“Hold on.”

“Little late for that, don’t you think?” Duke straightened. “Second lane on Ivy. They’re gunning for the freeway.” 

With a flick of the wheel, Red Robin moved. He didn’t bother with a signal, just slotted through a small gap between a coup and a battered minivan, breaking through to the lane beyond

“No, I meant this.”

The on-ramp to the freeway was a tight spiral, lined with warning signs listing a new speed limit of no more than 25 miles per hour. Red Robin wasn’t slowing down. Judging by the steadily increasing blur of their surroundings, they were, in fact, going faster. 

Eyes narrowing, Duke debated if he should curse, sigh, or laugh. He settled for grabbing at the handle that hung from the ceiling — as if that’d help — and muttering a quiet “Aw, man.”

His heart skipped a beat when the car went into a calculated skid. Something thumped against the logo on his chest, keeping him from slamming forward. The scent of burning rubber hung in the air as they swerved into place on the freeway.

“Dude. Did you just mom-arm me?”

Tim sniffed. The sound — closer to Damian’s trademark tut-click than he would admit — was one that Duke had, so far, only heard Hood elicit. Somehow, being the cause of it felt a little like victory.

“Reflex. Usually I’ve gotta stop Impulse from going through the windshield.” Red Robin pulled back, then shifted gears. The manual transmission hummed as it switched. 

“Third lane from the right. Straight shot past this exit.”

“On it.” 

Tim tapped the breaks, jerking to a lower speed to slalom between an SUV and a Mini Cooper and pop out on the other side. 

“Where did you learn to _drive_?”

“Bristol.”

Maybe the dry humor shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering Red lived at the manor with Alfred for several years, but Duke cracked a smile nonetheless. “I’d forgotten you were a rich kid before the whole Bat thing.”

“The van we’re chasing. Can you see the back bumper in the light trail? What’s the make?”

Squinting, Duke tried to pick out the chrome text against the white. He rattled off the name, then gestured to the left. “Take 18A.” 

“Are the lights circular, or oblong?” Red asked, sliding onto the exit ramp.

“Circular. Right at the light.”

“Hah!” Red let out a single, sharp laugh. “They’re going to blow out their transmission. The ones on that year are spotty.”

“I can’t believe B actually made you memorize that. Guess there’s perks to being on daylight hours. Get over, you’re gonna have to turn up here.”

The roadster drifted into the turn, gliding like something out of a racing game. “I like cars,” Red said softly as the car jolted, a dip in the road plunging them into a heart-stopping second of weightlessness.

“What?”

“B didn’t make me memorize that stuff. I like cars. Always have.” 

Huh. Go figure. Wouldn’t’ve pinned Tim for a gear-head. “Cool. But seriously, man, when did you learn to drive like this?” He couldn’t be much older than Duke, who had only been eligible for a license for the last six months.

“Learned before I started operating on my own. Had my own car to use for fieldwork and everything. The Redbird.” 

“…Didn’t you start when you were a kid?” Driving and riding a bike were core to basic Bat training, but Tim had been in Kevlar before he was old enough for high school, and giving a 13-year-old unlimited access to a vehicle was a bit much, even for B.

“It’s not like a cop could manage to pull _Robin_ over.” 

Okay, fair. But a whole, entire car? Hopefully no one had mentioned it to Damian. The Tiny Terror with his own set of wheels was a level of chaos Gotham was absolutely not ready for.

“Eleven o’clock!” Duke shouted as the fading white of the past-light image flickered, then solidified. They’d caught up with the real van just in time to see its bumper vanish behind the slope of a hill further down the street. 

Tim floored it. “Get ready!”

They crested the hill. Duke rolled the window down and drew his grapple gun, unable to stop himself from letting out a whoop of delight as the wind rushed by. “Next time you go for a joyride, I call dibs on shotgun,” he said, leaning out to aim for one of the back tires.

Tim’s smirk broadened into a full-fledged grin. “You got it, Day Shift, but only if you’re in charge of the playlist. ”

**Author's Note:**

> Tim and the Redbird feature prominently in the Robin solo series from the 90s. In the early years of the run, Tim goes to car shows for fun, insists that all bat-adjacent vehicles have an appropriate name, and is absolutely crushed by the fact that he can only drive in his superhero identity. I think it’s a cool character element, though it’s often forgotten in modern fanon and canon alike. 
> 
> Also, where’s all the Duke content? He’s an official Batkid — in current canon, Jason even says he has _four_ brothers.
> 
> Blacknovelist was awesome and did a quick beta pass for me. They also write incredible fics. Find them via [Tumblr](http://www.blacknovelist.tumblr.com) and [AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blacknovelist/pseuds/Blacknovelist).
> 
> I’m on Tumblr also. Feel free to contact me via [GuardianLioness](http://www.guardianlioness.tumblr.com) if you want to chat!


End file.
